Ukraine warns of Russian military build-up as new violence rocks the east

Ania Tsoukanova

Kiev: Ukraine has renewed accusations of a Russian military build up on its border and approved fresh troop mobilisations as a wave of violence threatened all-out conflict in the country's war-torn east.

A national day of mourning was held for 13 people killed on Tuesday when a rocket exploded near a commuter bus travelling towards the Ukrainian city of Donetsk, the worst loss of civilian life since a September truce that only partially halted the violence.

A Donetsk resident surveys the damage to his apartment after it was hit by shelling. Photo: Reuters

Oleksandr Turchynov, secretary of Ukraine's national security council, evoked a dire scenario before parliament, saying a resumption of major attacks by rebels could lead to a "large-scale continental war" if Russian troops were to also become more directly involved.

But he also spoke of another possibility – one described by a number of analysts as well – in which Russia would continue to prevent eastern Ukraine from being stabilised, causing the ex-Soviet republic to exhaust its economic and defence resources.

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Such a strategy would aim, according to analysts, at keeping Ukraine from integrating more closely with the West, with the country already suffering economically and requiring billions of dollars from world lenders.

Russia strongly denies sending troops and weapons into the war zone despite witness claims to the contrary. On Thursday, Turchynov claimed some 8,500 Russian army soldiers were backing around 30,000 rebels in eastern Ukraine.

The Ukrainian flag flies at half-mast in a sign of mourning. Photo: Reuters

He also alleged that some 52,000 Russian troops were stationed near the Ukraine border along with tanks, armoured vehicles, artillery systems and combat helicopters.

In the face of the alleged threat, Ukraine on Thursday adopted a law allowing for three waves of reservist troop mobilisation this year, with the first, involving some 50,000 people, set for January 20.